Smells like Slytherin Spirit
by Mariel Flint
Summary: Gryffindor HS shuts down their school and the gang goes to Slytherin HS. GinnyBlaise, HarryCho, HermioneDraco, Ron...Really humorous
1. Goodbye Gryffindor

_**Smells like Slytherin Spirit**_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any lyrics used in this story. For those who had a fit when I deleted the other story called Smells like Slytherin Spirit, this is the new and improved story with a better plot. In case you haven't noticed, the Harry Potter characters are Muggles. I still haven't decided if I want this to be a Ginny/Blaise story or not.

**Chapter 1: Goodbye Gryffindor**

**Friday, May 27, 2005**

It was the last day of school in Gryffindor City and kids were running down the streets, glad that they had two months before they had to worry about sitting in a classroom for another year. Harry Potter, his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and Ron's little sister Ginny Weasley were walking along the sidewalk outside the high school.

Hermione stared up at the school and sighed, "I can't believe we won't be coming back for a new year."

Harry stood next to Hermione, "I know…it's sad isn't it?"

Ginny cocked her head, baffled, "What are you guys talking about?"

Ron groaned, "Ginny doesn't know about this yet, guys. Nice going."

"Once again I ask, what are you guys talking about?"

Hermione replied, "We won't be coming back here for school next year. They're shutting down the school because we don't have enough money. The students will either be sent to Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw Community School District or the Scorpion Valley Community School District. Their high school is located in Slytherin, the capital of Princeton County. I imagine that's where most of us will be going because it's only a half hour away, unlike Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw, and Scorpion Valley has the most money around. It's gonna suck."

Ginny stammered, "They can't do that can they? I mean, some people can't afford to send their kids to Scorpion!"

"Yeah, and plus, Scorpion has all those snobby rich kids whose mothers are celebrities and their fathers are drug dealers. There's that Parkinson girl, that Zabini kid, and the notorious Malfoys. I hated playing those guys in football."

Hermione spat, "Who cares? I don't want to drive to Slytherin every morning!"

Harry nudged Hermione, "C'mon guys, let's go to Ron's house and discuss this."

**Tuesday, August 13, 2005-about two months later**

Ginny couldn't find her mother anywhere. She wasn't in the kitchen or the laundry room. She wasn't in her bedroom. Instead she found her in the garage, piling cardboard boxes on top of each other.

Ginny asked, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Molly Weasley looked up and replied, "I, um, well, why don't you go round up your brothers and meet me in the kitchen. I'll be in in a minute."

Ginny shrugged and trudged back across the lawn and up to her brothers' room. She knocked once and opened the door, revealing a dark room with the shades drawn and the fan on in an attempt to cool the hot summer heat. Fred was sprawled on the bed looking at a car magazine, George was on the floor playing the Playstation 2, and Ron was lifting weights in the corner. It smelled horribly like cigarette smoke.

Fred looked up, and quite startled, flung his cigarette across the room. Then he looked at her demanding a reason for her intrusion. Ginny replied, "Mom wants to see us all downstairs in the kitchen."

Fred tossed his magazine on the floor, George pressed pause, and Ron sat up from the bench press and wiped his face on his shirt. The four teenagers made their way into the kitchen and took seats around the table.

Molly came in and spoke as she began the dishes, "Your father was the one who originally wanted to talk to you about this, but since he's so busy at work, here I am. Any who, you all know that Gryffindor is shut down and that we've got to find another school to go to. Your father and I have decided that Scorpion is the best place to send you this year, but we ran into a problem. Since money is so tight, we won't have enough to travel all the way there and all the way back every day. Now the Grangers, the Finnegans, the Patils, the Browns, and the Creeveys are all moving to Slytherin to save money, and since your father already works down there, we've decided that moving to Slytherin would also be the best choice for us."

Ginny's jaw dropped, Fred crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head in protest, George turned very red, and Ron nearly screamed, "No! God, what are you trying to do, ruin our lives?"

Molly put her hands on her hips, "Ronald, lower your voice. We're not trying to ruin your lives; we're trying to make them easier for you. You don't need to worry about where we're going to live because your grandparents have been generous enough to loan us some money. We bought a nice, five bedroom house down there. It even has a swimming pool, hot tub, and pool house!"

Ginny stood up, "That's not what we're concerned about, Mom! We can't just pack up and leave. We have friends here!"

The three boys chimed in, "Yeah, she's right Mom."

"But most of your friends are moving to Slytherin with us, Ginny." Molly stated.

Ron angrily shouted, "But what about Harry? You didn't mention his name in that long list of people that are moving with us."

Molly reassured her son, "I'm working on convincing the Dursleys to move, or at least let Harry move with us. Now before any of you get any angrier, I want you to go to your rooms and sort out things that you don't need to take with you."

Ginny and her brothers stormed up the stairs and gathered in the boys' room.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Ginny screamed, "Can you fucking believe her?"

Ron sat down and began rubbing his forehead, "I know. I really hate our parents."

George sat down and began playing his Playstation 2 again and Fred opened his magazine.

Ginny nearly ripped her hair out, "What the hell is wrong with you? We have to move away and you just go on like nothing's wrong!"

Fred replied lazily, "The only friends we've got are each other. We really don't care if we move."

Ginny shook her head and walked across the hall into her room. She took one look around the extremely tidy room and was filled with a nauseating feeling. She picked up the first thing she saw, her snow globe, and hurled it across the room. It smashed against the purple wall and leaked all over the shiny wood floor. Ginny tore the blankets off her bed and threw her pillow across the room. Books, clothes, stuffed teddy bears, and her chair flew everywhere. She sank onto the floor at the foot of her bed and stared at the mess. This would take a while to pack up.

**Monday, August 19, 2005-six days later**

Molly had not convinced the Dursleys to move to Slytherin, but did, surprisingly, convince them to allow Harry to live with the Weasleys during the school year and come back home for summer vacation. At the moment it was raining and Molly was driving the mini van down the highway behind the two moving trucks. Fred sat in the front seat reading, George sat directly behind him playing games on his cell phone, Ron and Harry were napping in the far back, and Ginny sat behind her mother, staring out over the ledge of the highway, which must have dropped down at least five hundred feet. The sharp cliffs rolled up and down as far as Ginny could see, and she knew that if she had wings, she could fly far enough west and she would run right into the deepest part of the Rocky Mountains. Denver, her favorite place in the world, was somewhere over in that region. She sighed and watched the water droplets slide down the window.

The rain let up just as they drove into Slytherin.

Fred read a sign he saw out loud, "Slytherin, population: 63,761."

Ginny watched the tall office buildings, hospitals, shops, and restaurants go by her window. She yawned as they passed the slummy, one story houses, but sat up when they began passing large, newly built houses lining the steep-hilled streets. They passed houses after houses after houses for ten to fifteen minutes until they came to Sumner Street. The moving trucks had pulled into the driveway and Molly parked the van along the side of the street. They all got out of the van and ambled up the walk. The house was big with tan siding and white trim. The roof was a steep, black mass that blocked out the now shining sun. The garage was a three-door garage that connected to the house.

Molly announced, "Here we are! Isn't it lovely? It's newly built so we've got to try to make it feel like home. C'mon, kids, I'll give you the tour."

They entered the house and got a strong waft of fresh paint and newly laid carpet and tile. To their right was a large, open space with white carpet. It was completely empty and the windows had no curtains.

Molly stated, "The living room. Over here is the dining room."

The room to the left had French glass doors as an entry, but it was about three times as small as the living room. Molly led them through the dining room and through another set of French doors to the kitchen, which looked like it was off some episode of MTV Cribs. The tile was white with black and grey speckles and the countertops were marble. It was equipped with the appliances: a large, silvery refrigerator, a dishwasher, an oven, and sink. On the left side of the kitchen were patio doors that let in tons of light. In the back of the kitchen was a door that led down a short flight of stairs to the laundry room and a small bathroom. This area also connected to the garage. The area between the dining room and the living room was where the marble staircase was located, and a chandelier hung over the hall.

Ginny's room was the first door on the right. It was merely a space of eight feet wide and ten feet long. She had a small closet and one window. The walls were white like the all the rest in the house, and the carpet was a sickening white.

After Ginny unpacked she took a new look at her room. The closet was filled with her clothes. Her bed was squeezed into the smallest place possible, but looked good with her white comforter, purple quilt, another multi-colored quilt, and many pillows. She set up her nightstand and a bookshelf. On her desk sat her white Apple computer and a lava lamp. She put pictures from magazines, pictures of her friends, and pictures she had sketched and painted on the walls and hung many Japanese lantern lights from the ceiling.

Ginny spent the whole night staring up at the glowing Japanese lanterns, wondering if she'd meet someone new tomorrow or when she started school. She finally got tired of looking at the lanterns and rolled over and began staring out the shade less window. She could see into the bedroom that was nearest to hers. The light was still on, as was a computer. Suddenly a door opened and a boy her age walked in, slamming the door behind him. He was tall and had dark, shaggy hair that covered his eyes. Ginny's heart lurched up into her throat. Abruptly there was a woman screaming. The boy backed away from the door just as it flew open, and the woman, who had messy blonde hair and was obviously drunk, stepped in and slammed the door just as the boy had done. Now Ginny could make out the words she was screaming.

"You fucking little bastard, I told you to be home by ten o' clock!"

Ginny glanced at her clock. It was now 10:17. She turned back to the window. The woman took a step towards the boy. Ginny slipped out of bed and stood at the window to get a better look.

"You're always disobeying me, you good for nothing, little fuck head! I oughta get rid of you. You're just like your son of a bitch father. Always sleeping around!"

Ginny flinched. The boy yelled back at her, "You're nothing but a fucking drunk! Get the hell out of my room!"

The woman screeched, "How dare you talk to me like that! I'm your mother!"

She grabbed him by the hair and banged his head against the wall repeatedly. Ginny covered her mouth in horror. The boy's mother then began hitting him with closed fists. Ginny had been slapped by her mother, but never punched. The beating went on for a few more minutes and then the mother left. The boy hunched over in a ball. Ginny opened her window, not knowing if she should call out to him. Then he stood up and walked over to his window and opened it. He climbed out onto a miniature patio made for putting out plants. Ginny looked down at her window and realized that she too had a little plant patio. She looked back up and saw that the boy was sitting on his roof smoking a cigarette. Then she realized that he was watching her. Startled, she backed back into the room, hitting her head on the window pane.

Then she heard him say, "That was graceful."

She stuck her head back out and stepped down onto the plant patio and looked up at him. Should she ask about the beating? Instead he talked some more.

"You know, there are so many houses like ours on this block I figured that I'd never have a neighbor."

Ginny nodded and said the first thing that came to her mind, "Cool."

"My name's Blaise Zabini."

Ginny remembered Ron talking about this kid. He was really good at basketball.

"I'm Ginny Weasley. I moved here from Gryffindor City."

He answered, "Oh yeah, I heard about that. You guys had to shut down your school, so now you're coming here. Well, welcome to the Scorpion Valley Community School District."

Ginny smiled, "Thanks. Do you know my brother Ron?"

Blaise replied, "Girly, it would help if I could see you, but I can't so I can't say I do."

Ginny shrugged, "He said he played you in basketball. Ron's the one with the really red hair."

"The one who shoots like a baboon? Yeah I remember him. So you're his sister?"

"Yep."

There was a long silence and then, "I know you saw what happened in there. Can you just not tell anyone about it? I don't want people to know that my mom's an abusive alcoholic."

Ginny nodded, "Sure."

"I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow or something."

"Yeah. Goodnight," she replied.

**Tuesday, 10:43, August 20, 2005**

Harry shook the sleep from his head and stumbled out of his room and into the hallway. He made his way down the marble stairs, which felt weird under his bare feet, and into the kitchen, where he found Mrs. Weasley hunched over the oven, Fred and George at the bar eating eggs and watching TV, and Ron and Ginny at the table waiting for their food.

Harry sat down next to Ron and ruffled his messy hair. Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "Oh! Well good morning Harry! I'll just make you up some eggs dear. I was just telling the kids after breakfast I want you all to get dressed and go out and meet the neighbors."

Ginny mumbled, "I already met one of our neighbors."

Molly raised an eyebrow, "When?"

"Last night when I was supposed to be sleeping." Ginny replied.

"Genevieve Regina Weasley! You went out into the night without my consent?"

"No, we talked through the window. God, Mom, chill out," Ginny sneered.

Molly relaxed and asked, "And who is this neighbor?"

"Blaise Zabini. He's really good looking," Ginny informed her mother.

Molly turned red and nodded, "Well, that's nice, but I still want you to go take these fruit baskets to all our neighbors."

Ron and Ginny groaned. The last time their mother had handed out a fruit basket was when a new family moved to Gryffindor City and she had insisted on being the nice, friendly neighbor. It turned out that the family had two very immature teenage boys who took the fruit from the basket and splattered it all over the Weasley house.

Harry sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, looking smugly at Ron and Ginny when Mrs. Weasley said, "Oh, Harry, you can go along too. I'll just try and find out where the Grangers' house is located while you're gone."

Harry frowned and followed Ron and Ginny up the stairs to change into his clothes.

**11:13-thirteen minutes behind schedule**

Ginny yanked her brother and Harry up the long walk to a house that looked exactly like hers. She handed the fruit basket to Ron and knocked on the door, putting a big smile on her face just as the door opened.

Blaise's mother opened the door. Her blonde hair was now neatly groomed, her hands had a fresh manicure, and she was wearing what appeared to be expensive designer clothes.

"Can I help you?"

Ginny cleared her throat, "Hello, my name is Ginny Weasley. This is my brother Ron and um," Ginny glanced nervously at Harry, "and my adopted brother Harry. We just moved in next door. My mother sent you a fruit basket." She pointed to Ron, who was holding the fruit basket, over her shoulder.

Blaise's mother eyed them over suspiciously and then smiled rather falsely, "My name is Felicia Zabini. It's nice to meet you. Why don't you come on in for some lemonade?"

She took the basket from Ron, who slouched in relief. Ginny nudged him and they followed Felicia into the house. It looked exactly like hers, only with more expensive furniture and much classy décor choices. Off to the right, in the living room, sat a giant 66 inch plasma screen television that sat in mute mode because in the corner sat a large CD player that played loud rock music.

Felicia shouted over the music, "Blaise, turn that goddamned music down!"

Blaise's shaggy, brown head appeared over the back of the black leather couch, "Fuck off!"

Felicia stomped over to the CD player and yanked the volume knob down, "We have company, dammit, now act normal!"

She turned to Ginny, Ron, and Harry, "I'll be out with the lemonade in a minute. Just make yourselves at home."

Blaise stood up and stalked over to Ginny and shook her hand, "Nice to see you again Genevieve." Then he turned to Ron and Harry, "This must be Ronald and the famous point guard, Harry Potter."

Ron nodded towards Blaise and threw himself down on the leather couch. Harry threw a quick smile at him and joined his so called 'brother' on the couch. Ginny cleared some laundry and magazines off the couch and onto the coffee table, which was filled with more magazines and two ash trays, and sat down with her brother.

Suddenly Blaise jerked and jumped over to the CD player, twisting the knob back to his loud volume, "This song is the fucking bomb. I'm sure you've heard it. Besides, rock is like the only thing my dad owns."

In fact, Ginny had heard the song. Slytherin only played it every time Gryffindor had played them for football. The song was The Disturbed's "Down with the Sickness".

Blaise began conversation with Ron and Harry, "So boys, excited about playing with the best team around instead of playing against them?"

He smirked. Ron shrugged and Harry answered, "Actually I am. You guys are awesome at football and track. Tell me; is that Malfoy kid still an asshole?"

Blaise chuckled, "Draco's still an asshole; he always will be."

Suddenly the CD switched to Destiny's Child's "Lose My Breath".

Blaise cocked an eyebrow, "I didn't know my dad liked Destiny's Child."

The four sat in silence for a while and then Ron gasped, "Holy fuck! Where'd you get that black eye?"

Ginny's stomach lurched. Blaise, however, acted quite quickly, "Like I said, Malfoy's an asshole."

Harry laughed and Blaise shrugged, glancing at Ginny darkly. Felicia came into the room with a tray full of fancy glasses, which contained pink lemonade.

The kids graciously took the glasses. Ginny took a sip of the sour liquid.

Felicia said, "I had to make a quick batch 'cause I forgot that Blaise drank the rest of the other one. He drinks the whole pitcher. I say, what do I have to do to get him tothink of other people? Beat it into him?"

Ginny choked on her lemonade. She set the glass down, sputtering and gulping for breath, "Excuse me…must have swallowed too much."

Harry put his glass down, "Well we ought to get going. We've gotta go find out where our friend Hermione's moved to."

Ginny shook Felicia's hand and said, "It was nice to meet you."

She heard Felicia call as they left, "Be sure to come back again!"

Ginny, Harry, and Ron made their way back home, asked Mrs. Weasley what house the Grangers had moved into, went to Hermione's (which was only a few blocks away), discovered that they weren't done unpacking, went back home, and played X-Box with Fred and George the rest of the day while Mrs. Weasley filled out registration forms for school in the kitchen.

Ginny sauntered into the kitchen and opened the cold refrigerator. She pulled out a fresh bottle of blue Gatorade and twisted open the cap. She took a swig of the sour, yet sweet, blue liquid and looked over her mother's shoulder, "What's that?"

Mrs. Weasley answered, "You and your brothers' and Harry's registration forms. Ginny, it says here to circle sports you would be interested in…why don't you circle yours? I've already got the boys' forms done."

Ginny sat down and took the pen and looked at her choices. It read:

**Circle the athletic activities your child may be interested in participating:**

**Swimming- Soccer- Cross Country- Tennis (only offered to sophomores and up)**

**Volleyball- Football- Basketball- Wrestling- Hockey- Track- Golf- Softball-**

**Baseball**

Ginny thought a bit and then circled swimming, soccer, cross country, basketball, track, and softball.

She handed the form back to her mother who asked, "So, are you excited about your first day?"

Ginny shrugged, "It's Scorpion Valley High School, Mom. The one place I never thought in my life I would attend." She paused, "Like their name suggests, we're entering the scorpions' realm."

Ginny shuddered as she exited the kitchen.

**A/N: So, what'd you think? I'm already working on chapter two. I really like this story, unlike my other ones. I have writer's block on my other three stories, unfortunately. But anyhow, R&R please!**


	2. Fresh Meat

_**Smells like Slytherin Spirit**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any lyrics used in this story. This story also used a small rip off plot of _Mean Girls_.**

**Chapter Two: Fresh Meat**

**Monday, 8:02, August 26, 2005-Scorpion Valley High School, Slytherin, Princeton County, Colorado, United States of America**

Ginny, Ron, Harry, Fred, George, and Hermione stood at the curb of Scorpion Valley High School, a five story brick building that looked like the school from the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. (**You all know how big and nice looking that school is don't you?)**

Ginny played with the buckle of her cargo bag, the kind that went over your head and fell into place at your hip, "So here we are. I'm a sophomore at Scorpion."

Ron referred to himself, Hermione, and Harry, "And we're juniors."

George stated, "And Fred and I are senior citizens."

Fred snickered at his brother's remark and said, "I'm tired of standing around…meet you in the parking lot after school losers. Don't get stung by those scorpions."

Fred and George wandered across the quad and into the school. Hermione sighed, "We ought to get going too guys. See you later Ginny."

Once again the Trio had left Ginny abandoned and alone. She squeezed the strap of her bag so tight that she could feel her knuckles turning white, "Here we go."

She wandered through the large groups on the quad, receiving many glares from the students. She even heard one yell, "Who's the fresh meat?"

**8:43**

Ginny sat in her first period class, physics. She always sat in the front of the room because she got a better view and therefore could understand the material better.

Class started and a short woman with brown, spiky hairwalked in, rapped her ruler on her desk, and shouted, "Shut up! We're going to have a good class this year, guys. And we've got a new student…come on up here and introduce yourself."

Ginny put her pencil down and nervously took a step up to the front of the room, "Um…my name's Ginny Weasley."

There was a silence. Ginny scanned the faces at the desks and met two cold, grey eyes. The eyes belonged to a tan, slender, black-haired girl with cunning facial features and great boobs that Ginny couldn't help but notice. The girl stared back menacingly and Ginny blushed.

The teacher asked in an annoyed voice, "And? Where'd you move from, got any brothers or sisters? What do you do on your free time?"

Ginny stammered, "I moved from Gryffindor City and I have seven brothers if you include my foster brother Harry Potter and I like to paint, sketch, write, or photograph things on my free time."

The teacher smiled, "Well, my name is Miss Nigel and welcome to sophomore and junior physics."

Ginny smiled and sat down, tugging on the loose string of her faded Squeeze jeans.

**11:54**

Ginny stood at her locker switching books when a shadow was cast upon her. She looked up to find Blaise Zabini, dressed in grey corduroy shorts and a grey, zip-up, polo hoodie, his usual shaggy, dark brown hair. Ginny looked down at the floor and noticed he was wearing black flip flops.

He spoke in his charming, boyish tone, "Saw you in physics. You were a major dork."

Ginny mumbled, "Well thanks."

Before he could say anything else, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle joined at her locker.

"Ooh, nice pic. Who is it?"

Ginny asked, "Which one?"

Draco pointed to a picture taped on the door of her locker.

Ginny muttered, "Napoleon Bonaparte."

Draco snickered and sneered, "What a fucking nerd!"

He slapped the locker with a great force, making Ginny jump. Then he slammed Ginny's locker shut and got close to her face. He didn't say a word, but his breath on Ginny's neck was enough to scare the shit out of her. Draco began to smirk and led his cronies away. They all bumped her with their shoulder, causing her to drop her book.

Ginny gasped and called out, "Blaise, wait!"

Blaise turned around and made two closed fists and crossed them over each other in a violent pounding. Ginny was not sure what it meant, but she was sure it was some sort of rude gesture.

She muttered, "Asshole," and picked up her book.

**1:17**

Ginny sat in study hall at the library. She had her own table and she had surrounded herself by as many books as possible, building, in her view, a safe fort. Just as she was sure she had gotten away from everyone, her books were shoved aside. Ginny looked up to see a tall, abnormally thin girl with long, black and blue-highlighted blonde hair. The girl had many piercings on her ears and Ginny saw a tattoo of a dragon on her collarbone. The girl was actually very pretty in a dark kind of way, but it became even more distinct with her attire: blue jeans, high-heeled black boots, a black blazer over a black _My Chemical Romance_ t-shirt, and plenty of spiked jewelry.

The girl wasted no time in introducing herself, "I'm Fleur Delacour."

Ginny repeated for about the fiftieth time that day, "I'm Ginny Weasley."

"I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are after Pansy Parkinson tells them. But don't sweat it, you're fresh meat. It'll fade within a week."

"Wha"-

"I made you a map of the school in study hall. It also includes a list of the cliques in our school on the back. I do it for all the new kids, but they assume I'm a freak and join a different clique. It's not that I don't have friends. I have a few. One of them is Neville Longbottom. He's appears really queer, and he is. Kinda like _Mean Girls_, 'too gay to function'. But get back to me if you have any questions."

She was gone as fast as she had come.

**3:16**

Ginny wandered across the parking lot and leaned against Fred's car. She took Fleur's map from her backpack and unrolled it. On one side it showed the school and on the other it showed the cafeteria enlarged, showing who sat at what table. The tables had labels that varied from 'Plastics' to 'Male Jocks' to 'Female Jocks' to 'Cheerleaders' to 'Cool Kids' to 'Individualists' to 'Nerds' to 'Freaks and Geeks' to 'New Kids' to 'Socialburns' and all the way down to one girl who sat alone everyday. Ginny was the third to the lowest of the social food chain. She sighed and tucked the map away just as soon as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George appeared by her side.

Ginny casually said, "Hey guys. How was your day?"

Fred stated, "George and I got a few weird looks but since we're part of the matured student body, no one really gave us a hard time. We wouldn't have cared anyway."

Harry sighed, "I wish Ron and I could say the same. We have all our classes together, but no one will talk to us. We tried to get noticed all day long."

Ron nodded his head, "It was useless."

"Well I started off the day in study hall at the library and their library is gianormous! Anyhow, I met this girl named Cho Chang and her friends Hannah Abbot and Lavender Brown. They called themselves the ABC's because all their last names start with either A, B, or C. They're big brainiacs just like me, which is good because Cho is like my new best friend now. We have all the same interests and stuff. The day went really well for me." Hermione was huffing by the time she finished her day's summary.

Everyone stared at her. "What? How was your day, Gin?"

Ginny shrugged, "I got embarrassed in front of my sophomore/junior physics class"-

Ron interrupted, "Oh yeah, I heard about that. Seamus was there."

Ginny glared at her brother and went on, "Then I got harassed at my locker by Draco Malfoy and his cronies"-

Ron muttered, "Asshole."

But Harry interrupted, "He was actually nice to me. We talked about football all study hall."

Ginny glared at her 'adopted brother'. "Then I met a girl named Fleur Delacour. She was oddly nice to me. I think she's a little Gothic."

Just then a high-pitched shrill laughing sounded across the parking lot.

A cold, harsh girl's voice snarled, "Shut up Elizabeth, you sound like a goat."

Ginny followed the noise and her eyes landed on the girl from physics. She was coming their way. She was dressed in a white mini skirt with a blue, button-up, floral print blouse and blue Converse All Star shoes. She was closely followed by a blonde-haired girl dressed in a ridiculously short, pink sundress, and a short, brown-haired girl with glasses and torn blue jeans and a pink zip up sweatshirt. The girl currently had her nose stuck in a book.

The girl from physics class shouted at Ginny, "Hey, you're the whore from physics, right?"

Ginny gasped, "Excuse me?"

The girl sneered, "You heard me. You are the girl from physics, aren't you?"

Ginny nodded, "Yeah. Who are you?"

The girl laughed, "I'm Pansy Parkinson."

"Did you call me a whore before?"

The girl with glasses and the book coughed, "PMS!"

Pansy spat, "Mariel, shut it!"

"I only called you a whore because I witnessed you hanging out with Fleur Delacour." Pansy put quotes around 'hanging out' with her fingers.

Ginny furrowed her brow, "I don't think hanging out with Fleur makes me a whore."

Mariel maliciously snarled, "You would only think that if you were a prostitute."

Ginny gaped at the three girls.

Mariel went on, "Look, I'm not going to judge who you hang out with. Pansy doesn't like the girl so I _guess_ that makes her a whore. It's not my call to make."

Ginny uncrossed her arms and said, "Well it was nice to meet you, but we've got things to do. Goodbye now."

The group slowly got into the car and drove off.

**Thursday, after school, August 29, 2005, at school**

The week had smoothed itself out for the kids. Ginny made friends with Fleur Delacour and Neville Longbottom. Hermione was now an exclusive part of Cho, Hannah, and Lavender's group. Harry and Ron caught up with a few of their old friends: Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, and Lee Jordan. Fred and George were still Fred and George.

On Tuesday the kids were all asked to sign up for fall sports. Harry and Ron immediately signed up for football and Hermione's pick was simple: volleyball. However, Ginny, who was unable to choose, signed up for both soccer and cross country. She knew it would cause problems, but she could deal with it. Practices started Thursday.

Harry and Ron were geared up in their practice uniforms, huddled in a group with Seamus, Dean, and Lee when the coach appeared.

"Shut up! I'm Coach Snape and I expect you to be out here at 3:30 everyday, fully dressed, and prepared to be worked to the bone. Now you morons aren't playing for JV anymore. You're playing for my team-varsity. So you better get your puny maggot attitudes in gear. Got it? Good, now I'm gonna call off your name and your passing partner's name. You'll be assigned to your partner all season and you'll warm up passing and other shit. Okay…

"Vince Crabbe and Neville Longbottom"

"Greg Goyle and Lee Jordan"

"Alexander Alystheimer and Seamus Finnegan"

"Xavier Whitman and Dean Thomas"

"Shepley Van Slade and Harper Lesley"

"Fred Weasley and Marcus Flint"

"George Weasley and Malcolm Baddock"

"Mason Bulstrode and Palmer Parkinson"

"Michael Corner and Tyler Derrick"

"Terrence Higgs and Oliver Wood"

"Brandon Montague and Ernie Macmillan"

"Adrian Pucey and Elliot Warrington"

"Harry Potter and Blaise Zabini"

"Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley…any questions?"

Ron and Harry glanced at each other before breaking off to their partners. Ron slowly stalked over to the place where Draco was stretching his arm, which Ron was sure could pound him into the ground.

Swallowing his fear of the blonde monster, Ron shakily greeted, "H-hey Malfoy."

Draco looked up with a smirk plastered on his face and nearly squealed, "Weasel! Let's warm up, dingle nuts, then we can get our scrimmaging on so tomorrow I can be placed quarter back, bitch!"

Ron nervously laughed and caught the football the Draco aimlessly threw at his head.

A few yard lines down, Harry met up with his partner, Blaise. "Uh…howdy neighbor." Realizing how stupid he just sounded, he shook his head and bent down to tie his cleats again. Blaise didn't say anything. He just threw the ball at Harry, who caught it instantly. They passed back and fourth in silence for the next fifteen minutes.

Snape interrupted them, "Alright guys! Get your asses over here! Pucey, Warrington, leave the water boy alone!"

Adrian Pucey and Elliot Warrington trotted over to the huddle chuckling.

"Now I want the juniors to go over to that half of the field and the seniors to that half of the field. I'm sure you'll all agree on positions. I just wanna see some scrimmaging."

Harry and Ron jogged over to their half of the field and waited for everyone to come over. They didn't know who elected Malfoy as king, but he took over and started yelling like Snape.

"I'll be quarter back; Zabini's wide receiver; Alexander's center; Crabbe, you'll be right tackle; Vince, left tackle. Now Xavier's tight end; Shepley's slot receiver; Potter, you be fullback; and Weasley can be tailback. Palmer's gonna be running back. The rest of you can be the other team, okay? Alright let's get this bitch started! Don't get too distracted by those cheerleaders, boys. They're just practicing like we are. There's plenty of banging to go around! Ooh-wee!"

Blaise smirked and chuckled under his breath as he took his position. Malfoy's arrogance must have been some sort of Slytherin inside joke.

Inside at volleyball practice, Hermione was doing quite well. She knew almost all the drills and could show off her spiking abilities. Most of the time she was setter, but they were scrimmaging at the moment. The only thing that was going wrong was that Elizabeth Dunn was giving her a hard time. Lucky for Hermione, Pansy was at cross country practice with Ginny.

Ginny had been checking in and out with her soccer coach and her cross country coach, but had spent the majority of her time at cross country. Finally her coach confronted her.

"Listen, Ginny, you'll have to choose between my team or soccer. What'll it be? You've seen the ropes, so choose."

Ginny bit her lip. Soccer looked really hard. Plus, she was better at running than scoring a goal. "I'll stay here."

Coach Hooch smiled, "Excellent. Now I'll have two star runners."

Ginny cocked her head, "Who?"

"You and Pansy of course. You should go running with her after school sometimes."

Ginny furrowed her brow and went off to join the rest of her team.

**6:47**

Ginny, Ron, and Harry were crashed in the living room on their giant, leather, wrap-around couch, icing their legs and other aching muscles. The plasma screen TV was turnedon and they were watching ESPN. It was on a commercial, though.

"So how was your practice, Ginny?"

Ginny sighed, "I started out going between cross country and soccer practice and then chose cross country. Then we went on a warm up lap around the school grounds-do you know how big that is? Anyway, then after that we took five thirty minute runs. My legs are so sore."

Ron sighed in response and turned his attention to the TV. Harry began to explain his and Ron's practice, "Our coach is Mr. Snape."

Ginny's eyes widened, "You guys have the PE teacher as your coach? That has to suck."

Harry nodded, "We got our practice uniforms and we got all suited up and went out on the field. The first thing Snape says to us is, 'Shut up! I'm Coach Snape and I expect you to be out here at 3:30 every day!'"

Ginny laughed, "You have my sympathy."

"Thanks. Then he gave us our passing partners. We basically practice passing and ball handling tactics. Anyway, mine is Blaise Zabini and Ron's is Draco Malfoy."

Ginny put a finger in her mouth, imitating gagging. Harry burst our laughing. "Anyway, we worked on that for a while and then we did scrimmaging. Malfoy isn't that bad; in fact, he's got really good leadership skills, if that's what you want to call them. He assigned us positions and we played the whole practice. I think Snape put me on the first string 'cause the seniors don't have that many players, let alone ones that are worth a shit."

Ron turned back to Harry and Ginny, "Their best player is probably Marcus Flint and he runs like a grizzly bear. But Wood came here instead of Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw and he was always pretty good. I bet Malfoy's quarter back, though."

Ginny retorted hotly, "The teachers and coaches here play favorites and they don't even bother to hide it. Do you know what Coach Hooch said to me today?"

Harry sat up and put his ice pack on his shoulder, listening intently. Ron 'hmmed'.

"She told me that I should start running with Pansy Parkinson after school!" Ginny exclaimed. "Like I'm gonna run with her."

Just then, Mrs. Weasley called them to the kitchen for dinner. Harry grinned and turned off the TV. Ron was already limping to the kitchen, muttering, "Yum, food. I wonder if we're having mashed potatoes with chicken gravy. Sure smells like it."

Ron was right.

**8:56**

Ginny was in the back yard swinging on the swing set that her mother had put up for the neighborhood kids she babysat. Molly babysat for Hermione's youngest brother Herman; Seamus Finnegan's seven younger siblings: Holly, Tony, Sydney, Autumn, Frank, Billy, and Rory; Lucy and Louis Longbottom; Ramona Lesley; the Pucey triplets: Elliot, Ethan, and Eleanor; and Draco Malfoy's sisters: Desiree and Danielle (who went to school and only stayed at the Weasleys' until piano practice.) Babysitting was not the correct term for Molly Weasley's latest occupation. She ran a day care center.

Ginny was currently trying to stretch out her leg by flexing it back and fourth on the swing. She heard a rustling sound in the bushes and looked up. Blaise appeared from behind the shrubbery that divided his yard from hers. He wore black wind pants and a black hooded sweatshirt. His dark, shaggy hair was stuffed under a black stocking cap. From the light that was shining from her patio, Ginny could see that he was sporting a new shiner, from his mother, no doubt. Blaise took a few steps into the yard, his hands shoved the pockets of his wind pants. He removed one hand and gave her a small wave, mumbling, "Hey."

Ginny flashed him a quick smile and asked in a low tone, "What do _you_ want?"

Blaise shrugged, "I'll leave then."

Ginny rolled her eyes and snarled, "You have a lot of nerve, you know that?"

Blaise turned and stared at her with his dark blue eyes.

Ginny got to her feet, "You were nice to me those few days and you expected me to keep your little secret and then when we go to school you treat me like dirt! Now you come over here and want to make conversation with me? What does this mean anyway?" She imitated his hand movement the first day of school in the hallway.

Blaise just stood there, his hands in his pockets, staring at her. To Ginny, his eyes looked like glossy, frozen ice. She shivered and looked at her shoes.

Blaise spat his response at her, "You'll soon find that I'm like that all the time. If you want to me to be a friend, that's just fine. I can be very open sometimes, but I probably won't give you the light of day. Call me conceited and self-absorbed, I really don't give a shit, but I don't want anything to do with your poignant rampage that you females go through over males. I don't like to get emotionally involved. You do not want to know what goes on in my head, Ginny. It's just fucked up. I'd rather put up a blockade and protect you from my ill-intentioned thoughts than get you entailed. So, it's your decision how deep you're going in. If you want to talk, I'll talk. If you want to hang out, we'll hang out here. Don't take this the wrong way, but my friends expect me to uphold a reputation. If you want to hug, make out, shag, if you will, we'll hug, make out, or even shag. Only if we talk about you, not me."

Ginny swallowed dryly and tried to find her voice, "I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything. Life isn't all about words." He turned and began walking toward his house.

Ginny called out, "Wait! I have an hour before bedtime. You wanna hang out?"

Blaise shrugged, "Only if it's in my bedroom. I've got way better music than you."

"Okay."

Blaise led Ginny up the stairs to his bedroom and turned on the CD player. "Have you ever seen the movie Garden State?"

Ginny shook her head, "What's it about?"

"It really doesn't have a point, but the soundtrack is the shibby. This song is called "Let Go" by Frou Frou."

Blaise flopped onto his bed and motioned for Ginny to lie down. Ginny smiled and leaned back onto Blaise's arm. She listened to the techno-rock beat and studied the lyrics.

_Drink up baby down_

_Are you in or are you out?_

_Leave your things behind_

'_Cause it's all going off without you_

_Excuse me too busy you're writing a tragedy_

_These mess ups_

_You bubble-wrap_

_When you've no idea what you're like_

_So let go_

_Jump in_

_Oh well, what you waiting for?_

_It's alright_

'_Cause there's beauty in the breakdown_

_So let go_

_Just get in_

_Oh it's so amazing here_

_It's alright_

'_Cause there's beauty in the breakdown_

_It gains the more it gives_

_And then advances with the form_

_So, honey, back for more_

_Can't you see that all the stuff's essential?_

_Such boundless pleasure_

_We've no time for later_

_Now you can wait_

_You roll your eyes_

_We've twenty seconds to comply_

_So let go_

_Jump in_

_Oh well, what you waiting for?_

_It's alright_

'_Cause there's beauty in the breakdown_

_So let go_

_Just get in_

_Oh it's so amazing here_

_It's alright_

'_Cause there's beauty in the breakdown_

Ginny looked up at the sky window and watched the twinkling stars in the sky above. She stopped breathing for a moment and then began breathing in sync with Blaise. She shifted her head closer to Blaise's and felt his soft, silky hair tickling her cheekbone. This was the beginning of something beautiful, she could tell.

**Author's Note: That's the second chapter. I hope you liked. I've already got the third chapter started and it's going pretty good. I'm also working on a new chapter for a new Ginny/Blaise story. It's gonna be at Hogwarts though. I hope you like that one. And I know that I rarely update, you just have to have patience with me. Please review, the reviews keep me writing.**

**MAF**


	3. One Awesome Party

_**Smells like Slytherin Spirit**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own J.K Rowling's fabulous world. I do however own my fabulous plot.**

**Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience with the last chapter. The third chapter for Love, Lies, Mercury Messaging, and iPods is finally up! Yay! I hope you all enjoy that one too. So on with my personal favorite story.**

**Last time:**

**The kids go to school…**

_Ginny wandered through the large groups on the quad, receiving many glares from the students. She even heard one yell, "Who's the fresh meat?"_

**Ginny embarrasses herself in front of the class…**

"…_I have seven brothers if you count my foster brother Harry Potter."_

**Blaise ignores her and she barely survives the first day of cross country practice. Blaise makes up for being an asshole…**

"_If you want to talk, we'll talk…only if it's about you, not me."_

**Chapter 3: One Awesome Party**

**2:47, October 31, 2005**

School had gone smoothly for the past month and Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry were in study hall, trying desperately to think of something to do that night, after all, it was Halloween.

Ginny stated, "I still think we should go trick or treating."

Harry replied, "What are we, five?"

Hermione sighed, "Yeah, really. Besides, Ron will eat all my candy."

"Will not!" Ron exclaimed.

"Well then, what do you morons suggest we do? Fred and George already got invited to some big party." Ginny proceeded to bite her fingernails.

Harry jumped in his seat, "That's it! We'll follow the twins to their party and hang out there."

Hermione shot down his idea, "And hang out with a bunch of drunken seniors? Not my idea of fun."

Ron frowned, "That's true."

Ginny mumbled in a sing-song voice, "Trick or treating."

The other three chorused, "We are **not** going trick or treating."

Ron grumbled, "Drop it already."

Ginny leaned back in her chair and began biting the other hand's nails. Just then, Pansy Parkinson came around the corner, pulling papers out of her book bag.

She slapped one down on the Gryffindors' table and snarled, "I'm having a Halloween party tonight. Juniors and sophomores only. You freaks are invited and you better be there or I'll send the mafia after you. It's **not **a costume party, but bring drinks, food, CD's, whatever."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked off to hand out more invitations.

Ginny leaned in and read the invitation aloud:

**You are cordially invited to Pansy Parkinson's Halloween party!**

**When: Halloween night, starting at 8:00**

**Where: Pansy's house, 2338 Somerville Avenue**

**Why: to celebrate Halloween, duh**

**Bring: drinks, food, CD's, whatever**

Ginny looked up at Harry and smirked. Ron gave Harry a high five. Hermione couldn't help but hold back a smile.

"I guess we don't have to worry about what we're doing now."

**3:58**

Hermione rode the bus home with Ginny, Ron, and Harry, since none of them had practice. It was a holiday, for goodness sakes.

Ginny opened the front door and threw her bag onto the steps, calling out, "Mom, we're home!"

Hermione put her bag down next to Ginny's and looked around. The house was extremely messy, and no wonder why, half of the bus got off at the Weasley's stop. The bigger kids piled into the living room to watch after school cartoons, while the younger kids wandered into the kitchen to get their snacks from Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione asked, horrified, "How do you guys live like this?"

Ron shrugged and began trudging up the stairs with difficulty, for there were boxes, clothes baskets, toys, and other objects in his way. Ginny was already upstairs.

Harry said over his shoulder on the way up, "You get used to it."

Hermione began her journey up the stairs. The gang found Mrs. Weasley putting clothes away in Fred and George's room. Much to Hermione's relief, the upstairs was exceptionally tidy, except for the children's rooms, of course (Ginny's being the worst).

Ginny approached her mother, "Hey Mom, we all got invited to Pansy Parkinson's Halloween party. Can we go?"

Mrs. Weasley asked, "How long is it?"

"From 8:00 to 12:00. They'll have parental supervision, if that's what you're going to ask next."

Molly shrugged, "Sounds fine. How are you getting there?"

Ginny replied, "I figured we'd walk."

Ron cried out, "What? It's six blocks away!"

Harry nudged him with his elbow, "You'll last. We're out for football, remember?"

Ron grumbled and went off to his room, "I'm going to change."

Mrs. Weasley went downstairs, saying over her shoulder, "Ginny, why don't you tidy up your room a little?"

Ginny groaned, "Why would I do that?" She rambled down the hall and slammed the door to her room.

Harry shrugged and looked at Hermione. Hermione asked, "What are we doing for supper?"

Downstairs a loud shriek could be heard from one of the children. Hermione bit her lip and called out to Harry, Ron, and Ginny, "How do you guys feel about eating out?"

Harry smiled and said, "Sure."

Ron hollered from his bedroom, "Depends, where are we going?"

"Taco Johns?" Hermione insisted, knowing that Taco Johns was Ron's favorite restraunt.

A call of, "Fuck yeah," could be heard from Ron's room.

Hermione called out, "Ginny?"

The response they got from Ginny was a loud bang from her room and then "dammit".

**6:39, Taco Johns**

Ron was stuffing his face with his fifth taco and Ginny was adding hot sauce to her burrito incessantly. Harry had his head tipped back and he was lowering his taco into his mouth slowly. Hermione sat with her fork poised in her fingers, staring at the three.

Ron asked through a mouthful of taco meat, sauce, lettuce, cheese, and tomato, "Wha?"

Hermione grimaced and declared, "You three should not be allowed to eat together in the same room."

Ginny grabbed another packet of hot sauce and began to squeeze it onto her burrito. Hermione shook her head and took a bite of her taco.

Harry took a sip of his Mountain Dew, "You know, this is nice. Us just getting out. It gives us an opportunity to talk. What do you want to talk about?"

Ron swallowed and everyone at the table could hear it, "Who does everyone like?"

Hermione looked up at him, "I don't think I fully understand the question."

Ron grinned, "Who does everyone have a crush on?"

Harry sat up in his seat, "I think Ron should go first, after all, he came up with the question."

Ron shrugged, "I like Mariel Flint."

Hermione snorted. Ron glared at her, "What?"

Hermione retorted, "Mariel Flint? Please. She's too sophisticated for you."

"What do you mean 'sophisticated'?" Ron inquired hotly.

Hermione replied, "By sophisticated I mean too popular, too pretty, too complex, too intelligent"-

Ron narrowed his eyes, "I think I get the picture."

Hermione shrugged, "Just stating my opinions."

Ron viciously asked, "Well who do you like then?"

Hermione bit on her lip, "I try to ask myself this question all the time, but I can never answer. At the moment I really don't like anyone."

Ron wiggled his eyebrows, "Sure, 'Mione."

Hermione flung a piece of cheese at him. Ron put his arms up in defense and chuckled, then turned to Ginny, "Little sister, who do you like?"

Ginny took a bite of her burrito, "Vincent Crabbe."

Ron's eyes widened and he answered with, "Huh?"

Harry almost choked on his Mountain Dew and Hermione said, "You've got to be kidding."

Ginny furrowed her brow, "Now you're making fun of who I like?"

Ron uttered, "That's just sickening, Gin, I thought you were serious."

"I am!" Ginny airily replied. Of course, she wasn't, but Ginny liked to stir up mischief.

Hermione beamed, "No you're not."

Ginny stared at Hermione with one of the most solemn looks she could muster, "I am. I mean, what's not to like. On the inside he's a kind, affectionate, clever guy. He's really talented at football and the trombone. Once you get past all that, he's an extremely attractive guy."

Harry gaped at Ginny. Ron paled and looked as though he were going to pass out. Ginny even had Hermione believing now.

Ginny shook her head, "I just can't believe that my best friends in the whole world would judge me like that. I don't know if I should be mad or sad." She looked down at her shoes.

Hermione tried to reassure her friend, "Oh, Ginny, we didn't mean to judge you."

Ron nodded his head, "Yeah, it wasn't intentional."

Harry stated, "It just came as a shock at first."

Ginny smirked and began to giggle uncontrollably. She looked up at Ron with tears in her eyes and pointed at him, "You…believed…me!"

Hermione glowered, "I knew it was too gross to be true!"

Harry jeered, "I knew you were weird, but not that weird, Ginny."

Ron wrinkled his nose and said, "Don't ever say that again. That was just mortifying."

Hermione nodded her head, "Yes, please. Anyway, Harry, who do you like?"

Harry thought, he thought Cho Chang was good looking. He shrugged, "Cho Chang is nice."

Hermione stopped chewing and glared, "My friend Cho Chang? My best friend Cho Chang?"

Ginny mumbled, "Well, thanks Hermione."

Harry nodded his head, "Yeah. I said she was nice, don't have a cow."

Hermione swallowed, "I was never having a cow to begin with."

**7:03**

The gang was back at the Weasley house getting into their party clothes and preparing for the party.

Harry had just got out of the shower and was now changing into some black pants and a red t-shirt, "Sheesh, Ron, how much gel do you need?"

Ron was standing in front of the mirror and applying almost the entire bottle of hair gel to his wavy, red hair. He shrugged and washed his hands.

"I just want to impress someone tonight."

Harry wiggled his eyebrows, "Mariel Flint?"

Ron blushed and asked, "What's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all, Rosy." Harry snickered under his breath.

Over in Ginny's room, Hermione was sitting on Ginny's bed, flipping through a magazine. She was already ready, dressed in black skirt and an orange zip-up hoodie, "Just pick something already!"

Ginny pulled off the shirt she currently had on and nearly screamed, "I have the biggest wardrobe on the street and I still can't find anything!"

She stood in the middle of the room, half dressed in hip hugger blue jeans and her black padded bra. She suddenly squealed and picked up a pink garment. She pulled it over her head and Hermione studied the attire. It was a hot pink, v-neck tank top.

Hermione gave Ginny a thumb up and threw the magazine on the bed, "Let's go get Harry and Ron."

Ginny mumbled as Hermione left the room, "Just let me put my hair up."

Hermione walked down the hall and knocked on Harry's door, "You guys ready?"

Ron opened the door and stumbled out, "Run away! Harry's overloading on the Axe Body Spray!" Ron ran around the corner and down the stairs.

Harry came out the door and Hermione went into a hacking fit, "That…stuff…burns…my throat, Harry!"

Harry blushed, "Sorry, 'Mione."

Ginny crossed the hall and made a face, "What smells like a skunk?"

Harry blushed again. Ginny shrugged and ran down the stairs, "Let's go!"

**8:13**

The gang had walked six blocks to Pansy Parkinson's house, and was now striding up the last hill to where all the extremely rich families lived. They reached the top and saw over thirty to forty cars parked up and down the street. Most of the houses were dark, probably empty model homes, except for the Parkinsons', which every room in the house was lit up. The only sound on the street was the sound of the music, cranked up all the way, bass thudding.

Ginny glanced over her shoulder and took off sprinting up the sidewalk. The four entered the house through the front door into the front room where they found sophomores and juniors on the couches and the floor, snorting heroin and meth, and God knew what else. Hermione grimaced and shoved ahead into the dining room. Ginny, Harry, and Ron followed. To their left was the kitchen, but most of the party goers in there were freshman. Ginny pulled Hermione into the back room, where they found most of the people they knew, dancing, drinking, playing video games on the mini-movie theater-sized TV screen.

They were greeted by Pansy, "You guys made it!" She leaned over and kissed Hermione on the cheek, and then Ginny. She handed each of them, and Harry and Ron, wine coolers, "Drink up!"

The Donnas' "Take it Off" came onto the speakers. Ron opened his wine cooler and yelled above the noise, "I'm gonna go look for Mariel. See ya."

Hermione shrugged and set her wine down on the table, watching Ginny and Harry, who were chugging theirs.

Ginny made her way over to Hermione, "Can I have your wine?"

Hermione sighed and handed her friend the alcoholic beverage, though she knew it was wrong. Ginny took it and wandered back over to Harry.

Ron found Mariel and stood watching her for a while. Whenever she looked his way, he waved. She rolled her eyes and walked the other way. Ron, dumbfounded, kept waving at the girl behind Mariel- Elizabeth Dunn. The beautiful blonde blushed and waved back, then skipped over to him.

"I saw you waving."

Ron wet his lips, "Uh…yeah. Hi."

Elizabeth asked in a flirty voice, "So, what do you want to do, Ron?"

Ron stammered, "You know my name?"

She giggled, "Of course I know your name, Ronnikins."

Ron blushed and Elizabeth asked, "You wanna make out?"

Ron's eyes widened, but when he saw that she wasn't joking, he shrugged casually, "Sure."

He sat down and Elizabeth sat down on his lap; they began a game of tonsil hockey.

Back in the house, Ginny and Harry had had at least ten drinks. They were sitting on the couch, enjoying each other's company, while Hermione stood at the bar, not drinking, just watching them. 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" came on and Ginny pulled Harry up to dance. Harry held her hips and Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck and they moved back and fourth, up and down to the beat. Ginny was giggling uncontrollably and Harry kept throwing his head back and laughing.

Hermione shook her head in disgust when a cold drawl sounded by her shoulder, "Looks like they're having loads of fun, doesn't it?"

Hermione spun around and came face to face with Draco Malfoy, "What do you want, Malfoy?"

Draco shrugged, "Where's Ronald? Shouldn't you be out there having a blast too?"

Hermione hotly retorted, "Don't you have drugs to deal or something?"

"Already finished," was the reply she got.

He grabbed a beer bottle and hollered, "Pansy, come dance wit me!"

Pansy laughed and began grinding with Draco. Draco threw a nasty glance at Hermione, who turned away, blushing. She felt almost…jealous. _'Whoa! Why would you be jealous?'_ Hermione thought to herself. She decided it was time to go find Ron. She searched the entire first and second floors, and even outside but he was nowhere to be found. She stood by the staircase up to the third floor and glanced at her watch. It was 10:55. She only had to go through about one more hour of this. But she would rather spend it with someone besides drunken hillbillies Ginny and Harry. She leaned over the railing and stared up the dark stairs. Should she go look for Ron up there? It was a commonly known thing that the only people that ever went upstairs at a party were the ones who were taking part in a form of shagging. Hermione swallowed and trudged slowly up the stairs. The music quieted and she could hear faint sounds of giggling and moaning from a lot of the bedrooms. _'Ron could be in any of these rooms!'_ She decided to just open every door and ask for Ron Weasley.

She opened the door and walked in on two freshmen she had never seen before, "Ron Weasley?"

The girl shrieked, "No! Get out!"

Hermione shut the door and moved onto the next. She opened the door, revealing a threesome between Pansy's 23 year old brother, Susan Bones, and an eighth grade girl that Hermione recognized as Ramona Lesley. "Ron Weasley?"

Pansy's brother replied, "No, but you wanna join?"

Hermione gagged and moved onto the next room. She heard a cry of, "Oh, yeah, Crabbe!"

Hermione gagged again and quickly moved onto the next door, she opened it and found Ron, laying in Pansy's bed, all alone.

"Ron? What are you doing?"

Ron cleared his throat, "I fucked Elizabeth Dunn in Pansy Parkinson's bed."

Hermione closed her eyes and made a face, "Please, spare me the details and just get dressed."

Ron obeyed and said, "Then she left. I really don't want to go back downstairs."

Hermione shook her head, "Me neither." There was a silence, "You wanna go sit on the curb and wait for the party to be over?"

Ron replied, "Sure."

Downstairs Ginny was sitting on the couch, waiting for Harry to return from the bathroom. Someone plopped down next to her and she turned to see who it was.

"Hello, Ginny."

Ginny mumbled, "Hey, Blaise."

Blaise smirked, "Drunk?"

Ginny nodded and rested her head on his shoulder, "I'm waiting for…"

Blaise cocked an eyebrow, "Who?" Then he realized she was asleep, "Ginny? Ginny, wake up!"

Ginny sat up straight and smiled, "A Big Mac sounds great, Blaise. As long as you pay."

Blaise put an arm around her for support, "Sure thing, Ginny."

Harry was making his way back to Ginny when he was stopped by Cho Chang, "Well, Harry, you look spiffy tonight."

"Thanks, Cho. You look…dazzling."

Cho giggled, "Having a good time?"

"Oh, yeah. Totally. I'm a little drunk right now, but maybe after I sober up you and I can go on a date? Say Sunday afternoon for lunch?"

Cho laughed, "You wouldn't be doing this if you weren't drunk, would you?"

Harry shook his head, "Nope."

Cho smiled, "I thought so. Sunday sounds great."

Harry put a thumb up and stumbled off to Ginny. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her across the room, where they slow danced to Colplay's "The Scientist". Blaise sat on the couch, staring menacingly at the two, a feeling rushing through him that he'd never felt before. He made fists with his hands, his fingernails clenching into his palms so hard that he thought he could sense blood. He unclenched his fists to find there was no blood. He stood up and left the room.

At 12:14, Ginny and Harry stumbled out onto the sidewalk, laughing tremendously hard at nothing. They found Hermione and Ron sitting on the curb, holding hands. The stopped laughing and looked at each other. Harry raised an eyebrow, and then the other, causing Ginny to burst out laughing again. Hermione looked up and snatched her hand away from Ron's.

"Good, you two are here, let's go."

The four started walking home. Ginny and Harry skipped ahead, humming and laughing freakishly. Hermione walked next, her arms crossed, and Ron slowly stalked behind her.

They reached the library where Ginny ran ahead to a tall statue and said, "Harry, look! Look, Harry!"

Harry giggled and pointed at Ginny and said, "It's a giant monster! Run!" He ran up to Ginny and they began climbing the statue.

Hermione declared, "That's a statue of Salazar Slytherin, the founder of this city. Get down before you cause damage."

Harry and Ginny stood high above Hermione on the stone platform, next to Slytherin, and began singing some odd song about loving him.

"We love Salazar! Salisbury Steak Slytherin." They burst out laughing. Ginny screamed, "We are pronouncing our undying love for Salazar Salisbury Steak Slytherin!"

Ron got up on the statue, still a little drunk and screamed, "I fucked Elizabeth Dunn tonight!"

Ginny gaped and Harry made a funny sound, "Hurrrrrr…."

Hermione screamed from the ground, "I like Draco Malfoy!"

Ron, who was standing on the ledge of the platform, fell off and hit the ground with a nasty thud.

Hermione shrieked and ran to his side, "Are you okay, Ron?"

Ron rubbed his behind, "I think I broke my butt!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "You can't break your butt, there are no bones in it!"

Ron began to chuckle, "I thought you were serious, Hermione."

"I was."

Ron's face dropped and he stuck it down into the ground.

Hermione nudged him, "Don't be a moron."

Ron's face reappeared and he spit some grass out of his mouth, "I'm not!"

Suddenly Harry and Ginny jumped down and Ginny jumped onto Harry's back. Harry, who was a very good sprinter, took off running down the street.

Hermione screeched after them, "Come back here!" and took off running.

Ron got up onto his feet and ran, also. They finally caught up with Harry and Ginny, who had run into a stop sign.

Harry lay on the ground moaning, "My nose!"

Ginny was on the ground next to him, giggling hysterically.

Hermione got down on her knees and asked, "Are you bleeding, Harry?"

Harry repeated, "Am I dreaming?"

"No, are you **bleeding**?"

"Nope, I'm not sneezing."

This sent Ginny into her giggle attack.

Hermione nearly screamed, "Are you bleeding?"

"Oh! Why didn't you say so before? No, I'm not bleeding."

Hermione stood up, "Good, then I'm going inside." She marched off across the street and up the stairs to her porch, and inside.

Harry asked dumbfounded, "Is that 'Mione's house?"

Ron nodded, "Yes, so that means we're almost home. C'mon."

Harry got up and began bouncing down the sidewalk with Ginny. Ron had to jog to keep up. Finally they reached their house and went inside. They found Fred and George on the couch, watching TV.

Ron asked, "Where's Mom and Dad?"

Fred answered, "They went out to a Halloween Ball/Banquet at the city hall."

George added, "They're not home yet."

Ron shrugged, "I'm going to bed, I think I drank too much. And if I drank too much, then there's no way to describe them." He pointed to Ginny and Harry over his shoulder.

Ginny had fallen asleep on Harry's shoulder and Harry stood scratching his head.

Fred woke Ginny up and carried her up the stairs and into her room.

Harry insisted that he could make his way upstairs, but after he nearly fell down, George carried him up to his room. Harry stripped into his underwear and passed out on his bed.

Ginny slowly changed into her purple, plaid pajama pants and a purple, long-sleeved thermal shirt and climbed under the covers.

**Saturday, 8:36**

Ginny woke up on Saturday morning with a terrible headache, sore throat, and a very nauseous stomach. She sat up slowly, which was clearly the wrong move, and then rushed to the bathroom, where she found Ron standing over the toilet. She shoved him out of the way and barfed. Ron looked wearily at his sister's barf and started all over again. Ginny was done, for the moment, and made her way back to bed.

**8:43**

Ginny sprinted down the hall, nearly tripping over a clothes basket. She opened the door and flung herself across the bathroom and puked, almost missing the toilet. The door creaked open and Harry gently nudged her over, so he could have some room to puke. They really needed two bathrooms upstairs.

**9:13**

Ginny stood in her doorway, debating whether she had to puke. She decided she might as well wait in the bathroom. She tried to open the door, but it was locked.

She knocked and got the response from Ron, "I've got diarrhea. Leave me alone."

At the word 'diarrhea', Ginny felt puke rising in the back of her throat. She wouldn't make it downstairs in time, so she noisily staggered into her parent's room, and into their bathroom. When she was finished, she glanced at her mother on the way out, who sat glaring at her from the bed. Her father, on the other hand, wasn't even awake. Ginny met Harry, who came from downstairs, in the hallway.

He mumbled, "Ron's a bathroom hog."

**9:22**

Ginny lurched into the hallway, but the bathroom was still in use. She quickly opened the window and threw up on the magnolia bushes on the ground, sixteen feet below.

**5:47 PM**

Ginny sat up in her dark room. She got up, tottered to the window, and looked outside. The sun was starting to go down. Her nausea was gone, but a throbbing headache remained. She moseyed down the hall and into Ron's room. He was still sleeping, his snores filled the room. She closed the door quietly and opened Harry's door. A soft murmur hummed; the radio was turned on.

Ginny called out, "Harry, you awake?"

Harry moved his arm and lightly replied, "Yeah."

Ginny shut the door and sat down on the foot of his bed, "Ron's still asleep. Dad's probably goneat work."

Harry explained, "I went downstairs a while ago and Fred and George were in your dad's office playing on the computer, and your mom went out grocery shopping. She was going to get us some chicken noodle soup. She didn't look too happy about it, though."

Ginny gave him a knowing look, "We'll have to be extra good for the next few days."

Harry nodded his head. There was a pause and they listened to Mariah Carrey on the radio. Suddenly Harry announced, "It's the first of November!"

Ginny smiled, "Yeah! We'll have to set up our Thanksgiving stuff."

Harry stated, "Thanksgiving is the start of what used to bemy favorite time of year. I can't wait for it to snow. I really can't wait till Christmas, now that I'll be spending it with you guys."

Ginny asked, "Did you ever get gifts at the Dursleys'house?"

Harry shrugged, "A book or a sweater and some candy. That's about it."

Ginny frowned, "Well it's gonna be totally different this year. Mom always gets us at least ten or fifteen gifts, plus you get some from me, Ron, Fred, George, Charlie, Percy, Bill, Hermione, Seamus, all your other friends. It's gonna be awesome! Now you've got me in the mood! We should start decorating for Thanksgiving now!"

Harry turned off the radio, "Okay. Let's get it done before your mom gets home so we can surprise her."

Ginny winked at him, "Good thinking."

The two got into the hall closet and began pulling out the Thanksgiving decorations. There were two plastic tubs full of décor; Harry carried one downstairs and Ginny carried the other.

Fred and George came out of the office and asked, "What are you guys doing?"

Ginny replied, "Putting up the Thanksgiving decorations." Then she called over to Harry, "We've got a ton of Christmas music, Harry. It's mostly what my mom likes: country. You wanna put some in?"

Harry answered, "Sure."

Ginny put in a disc and opened the tubs of decorations. She replaced the summer welcome doormat with the turkey-covered one. She opened the door and put an orange/yellow/red/brown-colored wreath on the outside. Harry put the placemats and Thanksgiving silverware in the dining room, after he laid down the pilgrim-print tablecloth. Ginny put an orange and red sash on top of the fireplace and placed glass pilgrim figurines along with it. Harry hung turkey cut-out streamers around the bar top in the kitchen and stuck Thanksgiving window clings on all the windows. Ginny rolled up the flower-print rug in the hall and laid out the red, orange, and yellow one that had brown trim (it was the one that looked most like Thanksgiving to her). Harry and Ginny met in the living room and linked arms and spun around a few times and then parted again. Harry hung up a painting of the first Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room, while Ginny hung up a Precious Moments™ Thanksgiving painting in the living room. Harry set up Thanksgiving-colored candles in the office, while Ginny set a stuffed animal turkey on top of the computer's screen. Together they wrapped a brown, red, yellow, and orange leaf wrap around the stairs' railing.

After they finished, they stood back to admire their work. It looked like something out of a home décor magazine.

Ron stumbled down the stairs, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He looked up and saw all the Thanksgiving decorations and exclaimed, "Pilgrims and Indians ambushed my house!"

Harry and Ginny smiled at him. He came all the way down the stairs and joined them, "Too bad I don't get any suck up points with Mom."

Ginny jumped up and down and squealed, "I can't wait for the holidays! Oh, Harry, wait until we get to put up the Christmas decorations! It's gonna be a blast!"

Harry chortled and Ron requested, "Can I help next time?"

Ginny put an arm around her brother, "I dunno. Do you have what it takes to be on Extreme Make Over: Decoration Edition?"

Ron smirked, "I believe I do."

Just then, Mrs. Weasley opened the door saying, "Fred, George, come help me with-oh!"

She nearly dropped her grocery bags when she saw the house's beautiful transformation.

"Who put up the Thanksgiving decorations?"

Ginny grinned, "Harry and I."

Molly handed her bags to Ron and put her hands on her hips, "I love it."

Ginny asked anxiously, "Mom, can we put up the Christmas decorations too? Please, please, please?"

Molly nodded, "As long as you do as good of a job as you did now. And as long as you surprise me with it. I was thinking about the holidays while I was getting groceries today. We'll have to start getting our Christmas shopping done. It'll be Harry's first year with us, so we have to make the annual Weasley Christmas bigger than ever. I'm going to have Mrs. Granger take you all shopping to get your gifts for your father and me next weekend or the weekend after that."

Ginny pumped her fist, "Yes! I love the holidays. And to think Harry got me into the mood."

Ron cocked an eyebrow, "I thought you hated the holidays."

Harry grinned, "I never got to spend it with you guys before."

"How sweet."

**Author's Note: I wasn't going to stop the chapter here, but it got a little long. I think I'll start a new one now. I should get it updated within the next three dayss. I'm really bored on this summer day. And I have no friends. Check out my new bio, guys. I made up my last one because I like to make things up. Anyhow, just check it out!**


	4. Thankfulness

**Smells Like Slytherin Spirit**

**Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with all things Harry Potter, a creation of JK Rowling.**

**Author's Note: Since I have not updated this story in a while, I highly suggest you go back and read the first three chapters. Not only does it catch you up, but it gives you a good few laughs. I would also like to address the high levels of out of canon material in this story. One – the characters are Muggles. That's obviously alternative universe. Two – the character pairings are little out of character. I'll let that speak for itself. Three – the setting isn't set in the late 90s. It's modern day, which is also out of Rowling's canon. However, this is all for fun, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as you did before.**

**Chapter 4: Thankfulness**

**2:50, November 25, 2005**

It rained the majority of Thanksgiving morning, so Ginny was "thankful" to get out of the warm house and into the chilly air. Her mother had been cooking up a storm all morning for the feast, which many people were invited to. Ginny's older brothers Bill, Charlie, and Percy were coming home. Bill still lived and worked in Gryffindor City, so he was already home. Charlie lived in New York when he was actually home, but most of the year he worked in Africa on the treatment for HIV/AIDS. He had been able to take two months off for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Percy worked in Denver in a cubicle almost all day every day. Like Bill, it wasn't that difficult to get off work for the holiday.

Remus Lupin, a family friend of the Weasleys and the deceased Potters, was also invited to the get-together. The Grangers were coming over since Hermione's grandparents were spending the winter in France. Harry's date with Cho had gone exceptionally well, so the Changs were also invited.

Ginny managed to wander away from the house. On her way out, she avoided a large puddle the rain had formed. She was only wearing jeans and a sweater her mother had made her, but the cold breeze felt good on her hot cheeks. She pulled her sleeve over her hand and dried off a swing seat before sitting on it and swinging. In time she got higher and higher. She could count the cars parked outside the Zabini house, and was actually surprised to see Blaise outside playing with his dog. Ginny tried to go lower in her swing, but it was too late – he had seen her.

Blaise tied up his dog and slipped into Ginny's yard. "Hello."

She attempted to cover up her sweater by crossing her arms, "Hey."

"You guys have relatives coming over?"

Ginny nodded, "Yep."

Blaise was silent and then asked, "For what be your thanks?"

"Huh?" Ginny asked confusedly.

"What are you thankful for?" Blaise reworded his question.

"Oh. Um, my family and friends, my house, you know."

"Really? Those are all very typical answers. I'm thankful for such a _hip_ neighbor. And I'm not talking about old lady Kranz."

As he headed back to his own yard, he turned and pointed at her, a smirk plastered on his face, and then vanished inside the house.

Ginny couldn't help but smile to herself. What a charming son of a bitch Blaise was.

She went back indoors to find most of the guests had arrived and were filling up their plates with turkey, potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, corn, beans, and an assortment of other small goodies. Ginny snuck into the line ahead of Fred and George, who were fighting over who got the last Batman plate. She filled her plate and sat down next to Charlie, who was deep in a conversation with Lupin about his clinic in Africa.

Harry sat down next to her, started smearing gravy around on his potatoes, and asked, "What did Zabini want?"

Ginny glanced sideways at him, "How did you know I was talking to him?"

"I saw you through the window," Harry replied.

"Oh, well, he was just asking about relatives. That's all." That was pretty much all Blaise talked about, Ginny thought to herself.

Harry nodded as Ron sat down and began to murder the food on his plate.

**3:36 PM**

The family and guests were all seated in the dining room chatting happily when the doorbell rang. Molly jumped up immediately and ran into the hall to open the door. She was absent for quite a time.

Finally Lupin called to her, "Molly, who's at the door?"

Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway with a tall, scrubby-looking man with stubble and long, dark hair. "It's…it's Sirius."

Everyone in the room was quiet. Lupin stood abruptly and stared at this man named Sirius for a long time before striding across the room and embracing him in a long, friendly hug. "It's great to see you again."

Sirius broke into a grin that looked unusually big on his face, "You too, Remus, you too."

Harry whispered to Ginny, "Who is Sirius?" Ginny just shrugged.

The newest guest was seated and given a full plate, which he ate heartily. The conversation went on as though it was never interrupted, but Harry silently wondered who this man was and why he had intruded on their Thanksgiving dinner.

**4:20 PM**

The family and guests were scattered about the house when Lupin came up behind Harry and asked, "Harry, may I have a word?"

Harry nodded and followed Remus out onto the back patio, which was surprisingly empty. Lupin leaned over the rails for a moment, sighed, and started, "I suppose you're wondering who that man is, aren't you, Harry?"

Harry listened intently and answered quickly yet carefully, "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

Lupin picked his words thoughtfully, "That man is Sirius Black. He's an old friend of mine. We went to school together, along with your parents. Sirius is – or was – your dad's best friend."

Harry was silent as he absorbed this. Remus pressed on, "Now, when you were born, your mom and dad wanted Sirius to be a part of your life. Harry, Sirius is your godfather."

"He's my –"

Lupin interrupted, "But before you jump too far ahead, there's something I want you to know. You know that your parents died in a car crash. What I'm positive you didn't know was that neither of your parents were driving. Yes, Harry," Remus nodded when he saw a flicker of realization on Harry's face, "Sirius was. But he didn't crash on accident. You see, Sirius was never good with alcohol. He made some bad decisions that night, but he wasn't the only one, Harry. Your parents shouldn't have let him drive. Things happened as they did, and there's no use trying to change or blame those events on Sirius."

Harry let his breath out in a gasp, but he couldn't get a word in before Remus started talking again. "Sirius was tried for murder, but since it was not intentional, he was put in rehab and fined for his drinking. The last time I checked, and this was almost two years ago, Sirius was recovering in a hospital. Now, I will leave the decision up to you whether to accept or reject him, but it appears to me that Sirius showed up today to try and communicate with the last part of James he has left – you."

Harry tried to swallow this. It was all too much. For the past sixteen years he had thought his parents collided with a semi or a van or some other large vehicle. Now there was a third person involved. And he had to decide if he wanted this person to be a part of his life.

Harry shook his head silently and looked at Lupin for a voice of reason. Lupin just patted him on the shoulder and slowly walked back inside, leaving Harry out in the dimly lit cold.

When the guests were leaving nearly two hours later, Harry smiled and shook Sirius Black's hand, but it killed him inside. Should he blame this man, or find another piece of his parents within him? Harry didn't know.

**11:40 PM**

Ginny got bored with the nighttime television Fred and George were watching in the living room, and her parents were in bed already, so she climbed the stairs and wandered into Harry's room. Ron was already in there, sitting on Harry's bed. Harry was sprawled out on the floor gazing at the ceiling.

"Hey guys. What's up?"

Harry sighed and Ron answered, "We found out who that Sirius character is."

Ginny raised a brow, "Really? Who is he?" She turned to Harry.

Harry muttered, "My godfather and the drunk driver that murdered my parents."

Her jaw dropped, and she covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh…wow…seriously?" It was all she could come up with.

Ron looked slightly ghastly, and Harry just nodded like a bobble-head.

"Ouch," Ginny said quietly. "That's tough, Harry. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really," he said and shrugged. "I'd much rather be left alone to think, you know? I want time to comprehend it before I have to explain it to Hermione."

Ron and Ginny gave each other a knowing look and nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, good luck with it, bud. If you do want to talk, we're here," Ron told his best friend.

"Thanks."

And Harry was thankful. Thankful on that Thanksgiving day that he had friends that were his family. Thankful that they listened and talked to him and cared about him. He had never had in a family before.

**End Author's Note: Not the best, but I had to get that information about Sirius and the Potters in there somewhere. It's important down the road. I'm starting on the next chapter immediately. That one involves a movie, Christmas, and a New Year's bash. R&R, you know the drill. Constructive criticism is appreciated, flaming is not.**


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